Cups – Tarot Training

2 cups – love

A beautiful card for us to explore for the new year. Just a reminder all my courses run on a one to one basis through a private forum, so as soon as you are ready to explore the Thoth and your own intuitive connection to it then let me know and we can start your training. Full details of all the courses and aspects I cover are on my website (see the link at the side).

Now onto the 2 of cups

In the Kabbalah we are at Chockmah with this card and it is the wisdom of the world of the cups, emotions and feelings, how we flow with things or not. It is connected to the wisdom of water. When this card arises we can make a lot of progress by simply watching water and how it interacts with things around, and liken this to ourselves how we flow in our connections to others. On the card we see depicted the flow from spirit to earth – from the oneness of everything into duality – from our wholeness into relationship with another, so we can see ourselves more clearly through the reflection of our own nature another brings to us.. very often there are the lessons we learn the most strongly in our relationships and this is the card of relationship with that someone special, as well as all forms of partnership. Usually seen from it positive angle that differences are appreciated and add to the relationship rather than cause destructive energies, we allow ourselves to be like the fish – both living in the water, flowing with it, yet separate from it. Taking something in – the nourishment we need, and releasing all else. In successful relationships of all kinds this is the process we all go through – taking what we can learn from another but leaving the energies that are not truly ours. We allow the resonating parts of ourselves expression and simply accept as part of the other person all that which is unlike us. In truth we all hold everything in us – all potentials and possibilities are there, however we also discern what our soul is asking us to express in any particular moment and make our choices on how to react to the environment to reflect this inner truth. Sometimes we do the same as someone else – other times we are uniquely different and vice versa.

This card represents Crowley’s main dictum – “Love under Will” where we have the purest form of love. We use our will – our connection to our soul – to direct our action towards the expression of love on this earthly plane. Hence its common connection with romantic relationship, and one that is flourishing.

The card astrologically is linked to Venus in Cancer – a positive placement with love abound in familiar relationships.

The fish have different coloured eyes, golden (sun) and silver (moon) so represent the balance of the masculine and feminine energies – within oneself and within the relationships we are involved in. There is no power struggle, or conflict between what we feel to be true and how we act. As such we attract people to us who mirror this also and so we find ourselves amongst more loving relationships then we may have experienced before.

10 of Cups

Happy New Year to you all!

This month we will look at the 10 cups, the imagery and symbolism in the Thoth deck.

The most striking connections we see on this card are with the Kabbalah and with the astrology linked to this card.

The arrangement of the cups show the tree of life and the lines between them the paths between the nodes. As a 10 it is connected with Malkuth and indicates the manifestation and perfection in the realm of the emotions (cups) So we see that satisfaction and fulfillment have been attained and that the person is fully aware of their emotional nature and of the concept that true joy can only come from within and it not externally determined. There is an outpouring of emotion from the highest source – Kether and it fills all the cups – the central pillar of the tree overflowing into the bottom cup.

Then looking at the astrology we see that this card is mars in Pisces – two very different energies – the dynamic energy of mars in the peaceful still energy of Pisces. However this is how the emotional energy doesn’t stagnate – the forcefulness of mars is at its most spiritual here and it ensures that the water does not remain still in its contentment but has the ability and energy to move forward into action, into the next step of manifestation through the 4 worlds of the Kabbalah. Mars energy keeps the Pisces energy from stagnating in its abundance of water.

We can also see this as a shift from Pisces into Aries – the next sign on the zodiac – which happens to be ruled by Mars. Even the image of the cups on the card show a resemblance to the sign for Aries and so the indication that it is movement from receptivity and complete emotional fulfilment into the active warrior like energy of Aries. Spring comes and a new path of growth is started having achieved emotional clarity and fulfilment.

As this is our card to start the year – perhaps have a think about what your next steps are with the tarot – how can you shift your enjoyment of learning about and working with the Thoth into the next stage? How can you make the Thoth more active and dynamic in your life? Answers to these question will help you move forward now.

I am taking applications for the Initial Thoth group course at the moment. It will be starting in February – there are limited places so do get your applications to me as soon as you can if you feel this is your next step in the journey.

May you have a wonderful New Year

Ace Cups

This months Thoth tip is centered around the Ace of cups. This card is very bright and shows an overflowing cup surrounded in many colours, blues and reds and spiritual whites. It is fed from the source by a brilliant white light. In many ways this is like our own deep souls, fed from the source and lighting the way in the darkness.

There are three interlocking circles in the center of the cup and these can be seen as ideas of the triple Goddess, the trinity, the upper triangle of the tree of life, Isis Osiris and Horus and other ‘tri’ aspects of the God head – The card itself being the highest potential of the emotional world and the top of the Tree of life – love connected to the highest source.

I have often seen this as a commitment to love in a relationship and the possibility of children from that union. The very beginning of things – the emotional desire for union with another. Love and new relationships are also very frequently shown through this card. It is primarily the connection with the source of all love though, our own high self-esteem and unconditional love of oneself. When you find yourself in this place it is like nothing external can touch you as you know you have all you need for joy within you. One of my favourite cards and a good one to meditate upon when you are feeling low. It can also mark the start of an important love relationship where love is the foundation and that each person has love for themselves as the root of love for the other and so the relationship loses its needy feel.

Suggestions with this card, if it comes up for you:
Meditating on Love as an energy source to motivate all action.
Focusing on unconditional love of yourself, even just to acknowledge that this is possible even if you are in a place of feeling low can help you move towards it.
Copy the card with paint or other colour medium to bring its energy into your life
Imagine yourself sitting in the center of the cup and allow yourself to receive its healing energy from the course and rebuild you.

7 cups

7 Cups – Debauch

This card often appears rather sickly to look at and the colouring and shapes on the card depict a sense of something overdone and having a lack of energy.

Looking to the correspondences of the card we see that astrologically this is Venus in Scorpio. We have the passionate, sometimes obsessive energies of Scorpio acting upon Venus the planet of emotionality, love, beauty and art. So we see here a card talking of passionate connection with others, possibly outside the usual expected realms of love and beauty given Scorpios delight in the taboo. So we both have lack of inhibitions and a freedom to follow ones own personal expression of passion in whatever form it takes, and the darker side of obsession and addiction in all forms. On the mundane level it can speak of late nights, partying and general hedonism. This might be seen as a positive thing – a release from the discipline and restrictions usually in our lives or, if taken too far, a more debilitating exhausting and self destructive thing where we are wearing ourselves out through lack of good sleep, food, rest and time to recover from one social engagement to another. We see Venus is in detriment in Scorpio so the tendency is to overdo things to such an extent we may not take the opportunity to pull ourselves back into balance. However knowing this when this card comes up in a spread it can alert us to the need to bring things back into balance and help us gain the strength to do so – surrounding cards can show how successful any attempt to do this is likely to be.

In relationships we are also prone to be feeling as if we are drawn, almost against our will, into relationships with people who don’t fully suit us, address our needs or who have little to give back. This card shows us it time to start to consider where we need to pull those boundaries back into place and how we are going to say no to once pleasurable things. If we can retreat into ourselves, we also can give ourselves both emotional and physical nourishment. Over-work in the career department can also be foretold with this card and if the 8 cups follows then a certain warning that time out is needed, a rest, a holiday, or some strong boundaried action about what you can and can’t offer in the workplace.

Looking at the Kabbalistic connections here we have 7 at the position of Netzach in the world of Briah (cups) which is the natural place of Venus and also of the energy of victory over our emotions. So there is hope with this card that we can turn things around at this point and that our emotions do not have to rule us in a negative way, though as see above Venus though happy Kabbalistically, astrologically Venus is struggling with the single-mindedness of Scorpio; the place of detriment makes this victory something of a struggle – though, if truly achieved, worth it. We can turn our obsessions into strong healthy passions if we balance them by expression, acknowledgement, and understanding. Allowing our self to hear ourselves fully, repressing nothing, we free ourselves from the addictive potential of our drives. We gain victory over what could be destructive forces in ourselves – this leads us to a greater mastery on this plane. Be aware of the tendency in this card of deluding ourselves about how far we have actually managed to achieve this, we can feel as if we have conquered our addiction or pattern, but actually we still need a good deal of alertness to the possibility it is an illusion and there is more work to be done.

2 Cups

2 Cups Love

I thought this month I would explore one of the more positive cards in the Thoth deck – here we have the 2 cups – entitled Love. A card people want to see in regards to relationship matters as it is a card of balanced and even love. A relationship that can last that has both partners as equals supporting each other but standing on their own two feet too.

As we look at the image we see two fish entwined and feeding energy in the form of light into the lotus of spiritual love they are standing on – this shows them as separate yet also each has an equal footing in the relationship that is balanced. The fish symbolises love and Crowley talks about them being dolphins though clearly they do not resemble dolphins in their depiction on the card. Dolphins are creatures of love, often associated with spiritual love and giving, fish in general are connected with water and thus the emotions. Here they are in balance and feed into the central stricture as a well as acting as a bouncing point for spiritual love from higher sources to bounce from and on out to the wider world.

In the way you often see when you are in love the whole world around you seems a better place and it is easier to love all people as you are feeling filled with love yourself.

Being a ‘2’ card it is a card that has just differentiated from the unity of spirit into two things so the driving force is to return to that union, so in relationship we seek to unite with our lover and become one again, yet there is also the tension of being in the physical world and complete union through all time is difficult or impossible to achieve physically though our souls may experience the union fairly fully.

You can see how the spiritual love from the two feeds the two at the foreground of the image and these two are cups overflowing – there is an abundance of love and it is never-ending in this card. There is a hint though given the four receptacles – two lotus’ and two cups that once stability (4 is stability) is achieved then there will need to be a shift and movement to allow development or else stagnation will settle in (reference to the 4 cups that is coming)

The background is yellow calm sea becoming green in the foreground indicating a sense of positive self-regard and self-esteem (the yellow) is the source of the love (green) and this relationship is founded in the self-love that each person has of themselves – we can not fully love another until we love ourselves. In some cases it may well be that each person has indeed fallen in love with a reflection of themselves in the other person – something they may not yet have seen in themselves.

Snuffin talks about the symbolism of the dolphins being additionally connected to the sun and the moon – with each fish a different eye colour – the one on the left has a yellow eye representing the sun and the one on the right a silver eye representing the moon. In addition there is a tenuous link with the Emperor and Empress with the 5 and 4 fins on the inner side of each dolphin, and these cards being the 5th and 4th trumps (fool = 0) personally I do feel this is tenuous – though in an intuitive sense makes for a good connection between the two poles of energy each of us has – the masculine and feminine. As we integrate these so we are better able to be whole in our relationships with others and make for better, more harmonious and loving interactions. So in this sense it is a useful trigger point in a reading.

With the astrology being Venus in Cancer and this is harmonious in itself we have additional links with beauty, the home and a feeling of emotional stability, love and protection.

4 cups – Luxury

This month I am looking at the 4 cups – it follows on nicely from last months three of cups though both were drawn randomly for the month in question.

So from the abundance and perfection of the new in the three we come to the four. This is stability in the element of water. Four is a stable number yet with water stability doesn’t sit very well. Pools along the course of a river are fine – however when cut off from the flow, such as in a drought, they become stagnant. So this card has a double edge to it – there is a luxury and comfort in its experience – and yet we are warned if we become too comfortable so we will stagnant in our life and energy. Some flow or risk is needed to keep the waters clean and renewed.

Astrologically this card is Moon in Cancer and as such emotions are strongly aspected, and there is a tendency to allow our desires to take over in our life and lead to imbalance. We need to constantly be vigilant to growth opportunities and not allow our success or good feelings to become our trap. This can be seen in relationships often where a couple has met and come together – there is a great harmony after perhaps an initial start involving various conflicts as each shows their full self and acknowledges their differences. Then there comes a time of peacefulness together. This time is heart warming and loving and there can be a tendency to allow small issues, niggles and discomforts to go – be swept under the carpet. In themselves each is a small thing and ‘hardly worth mentioning’ However over time the ‘dirt under the carpet builds and the relationship becomes a kind of cosy comfort yet starts to feel stagnant and lifeless. What has happened? one of both partners start to ask – where did our vibrancy go? It is now that the 4 of cups is fully in play and there is the opportunity to risk something in the relationship – risk the dissolution of the harmony in order to achieve greater openness and intimacy and thus vibrancy together. It is not guaranteed however, yet the risk must be taken in order for the old positive feelings to have a chance of returning. So this is the time to speak of all the things that one let go of and brushed under the carpet as unimportant. To become aware of them once again in one’s self and to share them with the partner. Through uncovering that which was hidden for the sake if a peaceful life a chance of renewal comes.

Crowley talks about this card being likened or associated with the geomantic figures of Populous and Via. These figures diagrammatically can be seen below as a series of 4 dots in a vertical line (Via) Or two columns of 4 dots in vertical lines (Populus)

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Via Populus

There meanings are of similar nature to this card and can be used as another way to see the meaning of this card. Both are connected with Moon in Cancer, drawing out slightly different aspects.

Via is the road or path forward, it is considered as motion and movement, the change that is necessary to reach one’s destination. It is however slow change, as walking the path rather than running. Someone with a vis energy would be slow to anger and also slow to forgive. Change is apparent, but the way forward so set that a complete change in direction takes a while.

Populus is about people and community. There is a stability here, though this stability comes from merging with another’s thoughts needs and wishes. It is a receptive energy, and so mirrors another’s position as the moon reflects back the sun’s light rather than shining in its own light. It is all about responding to another’s energy rather than using our own perspective.

So in this card we have a great ability to empathise and be receptive to what someone wants from us – though the challenge is to remember and maintain our own needs and pathway forward. It is out challenge to remember we carve our own path forward in life and following the path that someone else has forged, whilst helpful for short periods, ultimately we need to make sure we leave the path when our own heart starts to dictate another direction. This may not mean we risk the relationship or situation ( which could be a job or other practical situation) but that we have to make a move for ourselves even if we are scared it will upset the apple cart. More often than not the disturbance leads to something better in our current situation, rather than taking us from it. For example; risking asking for a pay rise, risking asking for a part-time position at work; rather than giving us the feared response of being seen as having a lack of commitment, it more often brings us our request and respect as a valued employee; we see that we are valued and needed, the company has no wish to lose us altogether. It is a win-win situation.

So rather than hold onto your comfortable position = think about what is more you, what would be even better, what might you need to risk in order for something more to come into your life? As you find the answers to these questions so the 4 of cups has worked its magic on you.

3 of Cups – Abundance

This month I am focusing on 3 cups, keyword; abundance. This card is not traditionally associated with abundance in other decks, but usually with friendship and good feeling. However here we have the abundance keyword.

If we look at the Kabbalistic position we have the threes in the position of Binah – this is the node of understanding, it is the third node of the tree of life from the top. 1 being the oneness of all creation, 2 the duality as this oneness splits to know itself, and three the result of the 1 and 2 coming together. it is like the observer, the understanding of the oneness and duality preceding it. It can also be likened to the mother and father creating the child – the third position is a new creation that encompasses the two sides of something. So in this way it is also linked with fertility.

The three of cups is a cups card so in the realm of emotions and feeling based perception. When we have our feelings straight about who we are, when we feel connected to the whole, yet are also comfortable with our separateness and duality then we are in balance and life flows to us – creating abundance in our life so we have enough at all times comes more easily and this I feel relates to the keyword of abundance; the attraction of positive events and things to us as we allow both our connection and our duality equal place in our lives.

Crowley’s comments on the card saying that it is representing love coming to fruition and is the spiritual basis of fertility.

Often in practice this card comes up in readings when our life is feeling good and when we have connections and support around us through which abundance flows. Favours from friends and a general feeling of being able to be free of scarcity thinking is usually present in the querant’s situation. There is a sense of constant renewal and understanding we are fully free of material obsession when we trust in ourselves to be able to always create, manifest or bring to us that which we most need.

It may not indicate huge wealth, but more a feeling of physical and of emotional security. From this perspective it often refers to a close friendship, or even two, around the querant, someone who the querant can rely on to help them feel secure in their own world.

Often people intuitive feel this card is a ‘bit much’ and a bit sickly looking, this feeling also can be linked to Crowley’s warning about the card as he says “the good things in life though enjoyed, should be distrusted” So there is a sense of needing to stay aware and recognise ones own perceptions, and drives in life. In a concrete way we can see this as needing to make sure we both listen to, and enjoy, our friends’ advice, whilst also hold in our own self the separateness to consider whether we deep in ourself should follow any advice or perception or whether our truth differs from that of our friend in that situation.

The enjoyment of life’s pleasures may not be in itself the solution to our problems, as the enjoyment of chocolate doesn’t give us full nutrition. If we revel in this abundance alone without looking to all areas of our lives then we are in danger of our shadows ruling us rather than us being in conscious acceptance and balance with our shadow nature.

8 Cups Indolence

8 cups – Indolence

This months Thoth Tip focuses on 8 Cups, keyword – Indolence – I picked this card from the deck with the intention that it would be the card that would be of most use to those reading this months tips – either because of something they found confusing about reading the card or that something in the message of this card would be pertinent to them now. So this card is for you.

This card, with its dark background and empty cups, shows a picture of stagnation, where there is very little left to give. In psychological terms it is a card that often appears when we are complete exhausted and burnt out. It might br through over work and trying too hard, or it might be a relationship is taking all our energy and we are keeping none for ourself. Either way the root of this situation is usually that we haven’t valued ourselves enough to say no to what is taking our energy. We in some way fear that if we say no it either makes us a failure, or a bad person, or we won’t be loved. Actually we fear being loved, accepting love from others and being supported. It might be we feel if we were we would ‘owe’ too much back, we wouldn’t be able to repay a kindness etc. Or it may be that we are used to being treated badly and to be treated well would challenge our early beliefs about the world and about ourselves. This can be a frightening prospect. However the appearance of this card in a spread very often means it is exactly the right time to be facing these issues and in many cases it begins with saying “No”. No to extra work, no to a friend, family or partner who wants more from us, and a “Yes” to ourselves. It may just be we need a break to recover, it may be we need to make some lasting changes, but it all will start to improve as we say no.

As this is the underlying feel for this card it can also manifest in the physical world as an illness, colds and flu serve to force rest on us we need, and help us say no and take the space from those who have been making demands on us. We can prevent this happening if we take action to say no ourselves, or sometimes we can allow this to happen and be compassionate to ourselves and realise our body has given us what we really needed to further our growth.

The keyword “indolence” is defined in the dictionary as : habitually idle or lazy, indisposed to exertion or labour. So how does this rather harsh word fit in here? When we are exhausted we are actually too tired to work much further and further exertion can see our work with error and slips that can appear as being ‘lazy’ with the quality of our work. But I feel a stronger feel for this word is in the situation where we have actually known we are giving too much, we are over doing it, we are just not looking after ourselves, but despite the warning signs we have chosen to ignore them. In a sense the hard ‘work’ here is to face the truth and to set the limits we need to set for ourselves. Sometimes being lazy in our lives is actually working very hard and against our own best interests as the energy and will to create conflict with our bosses and loved ones feels too much to do. So in this sense we can be seen as indolent. Lazy in not setting our boundaries with others, hoping someone else will notice our hard work and tell us to take time off, and do the work of being responsible for us.

Still quite a hard-hitting message, however if we realise it is not in our working too little that we are lazy, but in our attention to what is best for us, our whole being, that we are lazy. We can address the situation and turn it around. Take some time off rest and recuperate and plan for a lifestyle change if one is necessary.

I welcome your thoughts and comments below.

9 Cups

This month I am going to present you with my musings on the 9 cups, happiness.

This is not a card questioned all that often being positive so many times when it arises and unlike the RWS deck this card doesn’t have the ‘smugness’ about it. It does indeed portray solid dependable happiness, the feeling of your life being structured such that things are flowing and people help you as you need and you extend yourself to others easily and effortlessly. It is not joy though, happiness is a great feeling, but joy does have something more ethereal to it and though your life is flowing and things are working well there is a sense of sameness and somehow a lack of spirit to it. It is good for a time or as a background, but as a continued state it can feel somewhat lifeless. I am happy enough, but where is the challenge, the growth and the joy of change and transformation from one moment to the next so it is a card like all others with its downside. However when I see this in a reading it is usually very positive and adds the positive impact of the other cards around it. The exception being 4 cups which also carries the energy of stagnation out of excessive comfort and together these cards can indicate a real need for risk to come into your life.

The card is Jupiter in Pisces so as such is all about extending oneself effortlessly to help others, and to help situations around one. Spiritual service and the highest love are represented by this card. As we offer to others we receive at the same time. All struggles of need of love and personal gain are over and we can see and accept the love in all things, situations and people. However it can show up on the negative side if surrounded by more difficult cards as indicating the feelings of ‘happy happy’ – being out of touch with reality and not acknowledging the shadow side within oneself, others and situations before us. If we face the truth then true happiness can be found, joy, true joy, in effect can be the outcome. However we need to accept the truth of the situation to truly experience the joy potential of this card.

In the majority of cases this card is great news when it turns up in your reading, you have achieved a good sense of happiness in your life or the situation enquired about. I also have seen this card represent networking successfully in a business reading, and really forming the client base you need on the basis of honesty, truth and the ideals you stand for rather than some kind of temporary connection through hope of all problems being solved. It’s the soft sell ideal.

In a personal sense a group of supportive friends around you is likely where each has each others growth and highest interests at heart – so a community rather than everyone being the of the same opinion, each can extend themselves to want the best for the others even if that is different from what one would choose for oneself. In many ways this is the highest form of love.

Queen of Cups

She is watery water, so is a strong emotional character. The queen here is mirrored in a pool beneath her – what you see is what you get, as above so below, she is a woman who will not hide her feelings but expresses herself as she is in the moment and then is is gone – She has a maturity about her when it comes to emotions and knows that emotions held in are only going to fester – rather than this she expresses herself and lets it go. Yet despite this it can be hard to fathom this woman she is shrouded in mystery and you can only just make out her face, she is a woman of deep intuitive understanding and has known her own depths – because of this she may be a mystery to many people – yet her understanding and empathy for others is very high. She is a mother type and nurtures all those around her, instinctively knowing what is needed when.

Her power comes from her self awareness and self acceptance and she is comfortable in emotional territory – nothing phasing or scaring her as she knows all she sees in another is also within her. Using her own map she can help others charter theirs.

She reflects others in her behaviour and presents people often with a mirror for their own selves. As she does so she offers an opportunity to others to be as aware as she is herself. Many do not take it. But their response does to affect her – she may therefore be seen as a master of illusions, and sometimes you may not know who she really is in herself she reflects you so well. But none of this matters to the Queen – for she knows herself and that is all that is required – to those who know who they are they can understand and see of the queen too. As both their own reflection and also the truth that she is deep down.

She is someone who is psychic, mediumistic, and understands the symbols of the other planes. She can be lost in them if she has not healed her own psychology. She is receptive and feminine, loving and patient. There is no rush to action only being and experiencing the world as it unfolds. Whatever that may hold.